Social Annotation in Communication Studies

By Angela Cirucci of Rowan University

Description #

Sample assignment and rubric for social annotation exercises.

Assignment #

Throughout the semester, you will work with your Reading Team to read, annotate, and discuss selected readings from this course. The goals of this process include:

  1. completing the assigned readings,
  2. discussing the readings first with your Reading Team so you are then prepared to discuss them in class,
  3. developing a deeper understanding of the content of the readings,
  4. linking at least one idea in the reading to a current event, and
  5. noting three things you learned, two things that were confirmed, and one thing you have a question about.

You will read through the selected readings, highlighting and annotating (making notes about) passages. You are welcome to make as many annotations as you want, but two things are required:

  • First, we will employ the 3-2-1 method. You will note THREE things you learned, TWO things that were confirmed, and ONE thing about which you have a question.
  • Second, you will make note of at least one thing in the reading that you can link to a current event. In this annotation, please include the current event, an embedded link to the recent news story about it, and a brief explanation regarding how you think the two ideas link.

The last piece of the process is to interact with your team. You must reply to at least THREE other annotations. You can expand on a Team member’s idea, you can attempt to answer their question, etc. But, replying with comments like “I agree” or “good idea” is not enough. Your replies must ADD something to understanding the reading.

Grading Plan #

See below for points break down.

THREE things you learned___/6
TWO things you confirmed___/4
ONE question___/2
Current event with link and explanation___/2
THREE additive replies___/6
TOTAL___/20
Reading Team annotations are worth 15% of your grade

License #

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license